Priority Projects

Project Name: Red Brook Restoration
In September 2006, the first of four small dams along Red Brook, Robbins Dam, was removed to improve habitat for "salters", sea-run brook trout, and other aquatic species. The boards on the dam were removed several years ago and the remainder of the structure and earthen berm were fully removed to restore the previously impeded passage for fish and wildlife.

Site Location and Description:
Red Brook is a small, spring-fed, coastal stream in southeastern Massachusetts that flows roughly 4.5 miles from White Island Pond in Plymouth to Buttermilk Bay, a shallow estuary located at the head of Buzzards Bay. The restoration project is located on the Red Brook Reserve, which includes the 210-acre Theodore Lyman Reserve, owned and managed by The Trustees of Reservations, and the 428-acre Red Brook Wildlife Management Area, which is owned and managed by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW).

Community Involvement:
Trout Unlimited volunteers monitor stream temperature, pH, stage, sediment drift and trout populations. A.D. Makepeace provided construction equipment for the dam removal. UMass-Boston graduate students are monitoring the geomorphic and water quality changes that result from the ongoing restoration at Red Brook. Mass Maritime Academy and local high school students monitor water quality and participated in the Robbins Dike removal.

Species to benefit:
Salter brook trout, American eel, river herring, alewife

Status:
In August of 2009, two concrete control structures and associated berms were removed from Red Brook. Project partners TTOR, TU and MA DFW provided hours of volunteer labor for bank stabilization and site restoration. Heavy machienery operators from A.D. Makepeace placed numerous pieces of woody habitat material and excavated dozens of yards of wetland fill to help complete the work. Monitoring of geomorphic conditions, water quality, species use, and vegetation community type will continue at this site. PHOTOS BELOW!

In September of 2008, a second obstruction was cleared from Red Brook with the removal of the New Way Dike. Under direction from Riverways restoration staff and Interfluve, Inc., the old wooden structure was removed using donated services from A.D. Makepeace. Seven pieces of large woody material were added to the stream to provide habitat complexity for salters and other species and to enhance the hydraulics of the stream. Tons of relict fill was removed from the wetlands to form new, stable banks that will allow for natural channel migration. Finally, the project area was revegetated with native riparian species supplied by the Trustees of Reservations. Volunteer labor was provided by Trout Unlimited members, MA DFW, and the Trustees of Reservations staff.

The first on-the-ground part of this restoration removing Robbins Dam in 2006 was funded by NOAA/American Rivers and construction provided by A.D. Makepeace. In the spring of 2006 Riverways funded a sediment management and restoration action plan. The Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership has donated funds for the purchase of water level loggers to document water level and temperature fluctuations throughout Red Brook.

Project Needs:
None at this time.

Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Press Release

Photos of August 2009 Removals (click on image for a larger view)

Stabilizing the area of the relict culvert and the lower flume.

Removal of the middle flume during and after.

Woody habitat placed in the stream.

Photos of New Way Dike removal (click on image for a larger view)

Removing the old bridge and placing woody habitat.

Representatives of American Rivers, Trout Unlimited, The Trustees of Reservations, the Riverways Program, and Inter-Fluve, Inc.

Warren Winders of Trout Unlimited leads Family Day tours of the finished site.

Photos of Robbins Dike removal (click on image for a larger view)

Page last updated September 2008